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Wednesday, April 19, 2017

TIAR College Top Ten Power Rankings

There is some change in our Top Ten Power Rankings this week with Central Washington losing in the Varsity Cup.

1. Life (Last Week: 1, Bye): Life had their second bye week in a row as they get ready for their playoff opener against Lindenwood. The Lions had no trouble with Davenport but Life have won both meetings between the two teams this year. Life was getting better as the Spring progressed but the layoff may hurt them. Up next: Lindenwood2. BYU (LW: 2, Bye): BYU also had the week off as they get ready to take on Indiana. It has been an up and down season for the Cougars but if you look at their losses they have come against what is the best team in the country in the Glendale Raptors and St. Mary's. We expect them to beat Indiana to head to a faceoff with Life. Up next: Indiana

3. St. Mary's (LW: 3, Easter Tour): St. Mary's have stayed busy the last two weeks with a tour of Ireland and Scotland. They have had some tough matches during that span but have come away with plenty of wins. It's just the type of tour that can energize a team. They come back to the States this week to take on SDSU in the DI-A playoffs. The Gaels will be favored in the match and favored to make the DI-A final. Up next: SDSU

Take the jump to read more.4. Cal (LW: 4, beat Clemson 71-7): Cal were one of the lone top teams to be involved last weekend. They had to make the trip across the country to play Clemson but still emerged with the big win. With Central Washington losing Cal look all but set to claim another Varsity Cup. Up next: Penn State

5. Lindenwood (LW: 6, Bye): Lindenwood had the weekend off but move up a spot thanks to Cal falling. The Lions haven't been able to beat Life this year but maybe third time's the charm. Up next: Life

6. San Diego State (LW: 7, beat Utah 41-31): San Diego State picked up another win in the DI-A playoffs with a win over Utah. The Aztecs are our sleeper team to cause an upset in DI-A but they face a difficult task against St. Mary's. They are going to need everything to go their way. Up next: St. Mary's

7. Central Washington (LW: 5, lost to Navy 27-24): The Wildcats have to be bitterly disappointed they fell to Navy in their first match in the Varsity Cup. We thought that Central Washington could potentially play spoiler to Cal but in the end the cross country trip proved too much. All good teams have bad days but Central Washington didn't pick a good time to have their bad day. Up next: Season finished8. Arkansas State (LW: 9, beat Utah Valley 39-12): With Central Washington out Arkansas State are now the favorites to make it to the Varsity Cup final against Cal. They will have to get past Navy first but they have a good shot. The Red Wolves have been playing some good rugby recently and it's paid off with results. Up next: Navy

9. Indiana (LW: 10, Bye): Indiana had the week off to prepare for BYU. They are going to have to play the game of their lives if they want to beat the Cougars. Up next: BYU10. Penn State (LW: NR, beat Army 47-34): Penn State climb back into our rankings with a win over Army. It was one of the closest playoff matches of the year but Penn State did enough to pull it out. Now they have to make the trip to Cal. Up next: Cal